Washington is a leading agricultural state. Washington's agricultural
products value is approximately $5.79 billion and continuing to grow
and is 11th highest in the country. The total value of its crops was
$3.8 billion, the 7th highest. The total value of its livestock and
specialty products was $1.5 billion, the 26th highest. The apple
industry is very large and of most importance to Washington.
The favorable climate of dry, warm summers and cold winters of central
Washington is best suited for apples and other products.
The two large areas of production are: the Wenatchee–Okanogan region
(comprising Chelan, Okanogan, Douglas, and Grant counties),
and the Yakima region (Yakima, Benton and Kittitas counties).
In 2004, Washington ranked first in the nation in production of red raspberries
(90.0% of total U.S. production), wrinkled seed peas (80.6%), hops (75.0%),
spearmint oil (73.6%), apples (58.1%), sweet cherries (47.3%), pears (42.6%),
peppermint oil (40.3%), Concord grapes (39.3%), carrots for processing (36.8%),
and Niagara grapes (31.6%). Washington also ranked second in the nation in production
of lentils, fall potatoes, dry edible peas, apricots, grapes (all varieties taken together),
asparagus (over a third of the nation's production), sweet corn for processing, and green
peas for processing; third in tart cherries, prunes and plums, and dry summer onions;
fourth in barley and trout; and fifth in wheat, cranberries, and strawberries.
Agriculture has been the chief source of income for the state's economy.
Four important rivers of India, the Godavari, Krishna, Penna and Thungabhadra
flow through the state, providing irrigation. Rice, sugarcane, cotton, mirchi (chilli pepper),
mango and tobacco are the local crops. Recently, crops used for vegetable oil production such
as sunflower and peanuts have gained favor. There are many multi-state irrigation projects
in development, including Godavari River Basin Irrigation Projects and Nagarjuna Sagar Dam,
the world's highest masonry dam.
• More than 77% of its crop is rice; Andhra Pradesh produced 17,796,000 tons of rice in 2006.
• Andhra Pradesh is also known for corn hybrids , Sunflowers, and mustard.
• Biotechnology research in Andhra Pradesh has gone to a new height and focuses on increasing
agricultural yields for local farmers.
• The State also invests a lot in Advance Research and Development especially
in pharmaceuticals, bioinformatics and genetics.